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DayBreaks for 8/24/15 – Unbearable Circumstances

The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. – Daniel 2:10-13 (NLT)

Have you ever had a dream that really troubled you? The greatest king of the ancient Babylonian empire did…more than once. After the first dream, the king sought an explanation for the dream…but he wasn’t willing to tell his dream to anyone. His advisors had to not only explain the dream, but to tell the king what the dream was! Impossible? Humanly speaking, it was. The great king was incensed and decreed the death of all the wise men.

You know the rest of the story – how Daniel prayed and God revealed all that was hidden, and by telling the dream and its meaning, the lives of the wise men was spared.

It is easy to miss the point: Daniel and his friends were under a death sentence. Was what the king asked fair? Of course not. But it was the king’s prerogative. And Daniel and his friends found themselves in a situation that was blatantly unfair and unjust. Daniel and his friends who were to be executed had done nothing to deserve this death sentence. Something horrible had happened and Daniel had no idea how it would end.

If you’ve drawn more than one breath on this earth, you know how that feels – the sense of impending doom and despair. How do you react when faced with circumstances that do not seem at all fair? Do you rant and rave and belly-ache about it? Do you scream and yes and tell everyone how miserable you are and how unfair it all is?

What was God doing in this situation? Was God seeking to glorify Daniel? No. He was seeking to bend the will of a pagan king to acknowledge that the God of heaven is the King of kings and that He alone is the Supreme One.

Rather than moaning and groaning in such circumstance, what if we took a different approach and asked ourselves this question: What if God is using this event in my life to showcase His Sovereignty? How might your response differ? Bear in mind the things you know of God: He is kind, He is loving, He is gracious and full of mercy, He cannot do wrong or make mistakes, He only does what glorifies Himself and is best for His children. It may not make the circumstance any less hard, but it may make it bearable knowing that He is good and that He loves you.

PRAYER: Father, even when we feel things are unfair and that what has happened to us is unfair, let us seek You glory above all else! In Jesus’ name, Amen.